Customized Retirement Solutions

Uniquely designed for AG ministers and ministry employees, the AG 403(b) plan is the only retirement plan endorsed by the General Council of the Assemblies of God. Participants in the AG 403(b) plan can choose to contribute to their account pretax or Roth after-tax.

403(b) Plan

Since 1945, we have been blessed to help ministers and ministry employees save for retirement. Ours is the only retirement plan endorsed by the General Council of the Assemblies of God, with over 27,000 participants and more than $1 billion in assets.

Plan Benefits

This fund has provided stable returns for over 60 years and is our most popular investment option. Your investment in this fund is utilized to build AG churches and ministry facilities across the country.

General overall limit under age 50 (all types of contributions including deferrals, employer, and traditional after-tax). Cannot exceed includible compensation.

2018

$55,000

2019

$56,000

Overall limit age 50 or older (all types of contributions including deferrals, employer, and traditional after-tax; amounts over the general overall limit must be age 50 catch-up deferrals). Cannot exceed includible compensation except to the extent that the age 50 or older catch-up deferral has been utilized.

2018

$61,000

2019

$62,000

Special deferral catch-up for participants with 15 years or more full-time equivalent service with the Assemblies of God.

2018

Contact our office

2019

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Special contribution limit for participants with little or no includible compensation

2018

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2019

Contact our office

403(b) Contribution Limit

2018

2019

Under age 50 deferral limit (pre-tax and Roth after-tax)

The lesser of $18,500 or includible compensation.

The lesser of $19,000 or includible compensation.

Age 50 or older deferral limit

The lesser of $24,500 or includible compensation.

The lesser of $25,000 or includible compensation.

General overall limit under age 50 (all types of contributions including deferrals, employer, and traditional after-tax). Cannot exceed includible compensation.

$55,000

$56,000

Overall limit age 50 or older (all types of contributions including deferrals, employer, and traditional after-tax; amounts over the general overall limit must be age 50 catch-up deferrals). Cannot exceed includible compensation except to the extent that the age 50 or older catch-up deferral has been utilized.

$61,000

$62,000

Special deferral catch-up for participants with 15 years or more full-time equivalent service with the Assemblies of God.

Contact our office

Contact our office

Special contribution limit for participants with little or no includible compensation

Contact our office

Contact our office

403(b) Plan Loans

The requested loan amount cannot be less than $1,500. In addition, the amount borrowed cannot exceed the lesser of:

100% of the total vested account balance if less than $10,000

50% of the total vested account balances, or

$50,000

Members may have no more than two loans at a time. The interest rate for plan loans is fixed for the life of the loan at 1.0% above the rate of the MBA Income Fund. All loan payments are made by automatic bank draft on the 10th or 20th of each month. Consolidation of loans is allowed. The maximum term of a loan is 59 months (5 years) regardless of intended use.

Due to regulations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, 403(b) plan loans issued after December 31, 2008 require employer verification of loan qualifications with the following exception: Your employer has a sole service provider agreement with Ministers Benefit Association, and has not had multiple service providers since 2004.

409A Deferred Compensation Plan

Use of the 409A Deferred Compensation Plan for ministers or employees generally falls under the following three considerations:

The participant wants to contribute in excess of the maximum limitation of the AG 403(b) Plan.

The contribution involves several years’ worth of contributions from an employer who has not been contributing regularly, and/or that employer wants to send a lump sum plus monthly contributions.

The contribution is a lump-sum deposit given to the minister as a retirement gift.

A well-drafted plan can allow for deferment of all taxable compensation until distribution. The money still legally belongs to the employer, but it can be set aside and invested for growth in the 409A. investments can be the same as those that are available through the AG 403(b) Plan.

To enroll, please contact our office at 800.622.7526 or email us at 409A@agfinancial.org.

Finance 101 w/ Keaton

If Keaton is saving, shouldn’t you?

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

You may make changes to your investment allocations online here or by written request using the Investment Change Form here. Once the form is completed, submit it in person or by mail or fax using the information provided on the form. For written requests, you will receive a letter confirming when the change has been made to your account.

For your protection, changes cannot be made by phone.

To change your beneficiary(ies), complete the correct form below and return it to our office.

To see your accounts or investments online, you must first set up a user ID and password. Enter your full SSN as your temporary User ID and the last four digits of your SSN as your temporary password. You will then be taken through the online access setup where you will create a new user ID and password.Get started >>

You may contribute with a personal check if you have compensation as a credentialed minister and receive a 1099-MISC form or if you are employed as a credentialed minister at a non-Assemblies of God employer. Please consult your tax advisor. All other contributions must come from an Assemblies of God employer.

If you file or are eligible to file a Schedule C for your federal income taxes on your ministry related income, you are likely eligible to contribute to the AG retirement plan as a self-employed minister. Consult your own tax advisor to determine your self-employment status in this situation. Credentialed ministers who file taxes as self-employed for income and SECA tax purposes may not qualify as self-employed for contribution purposes if they are considered common law employees of an Assemblies of God ministry.

Roth 403(b)

A Roth 403(b) is similar to a Roth IRA in the following ways:

Compensation used to fund a Roth is taxed before being contributed to a Roth account.
Earnings grow tax-free.

Qualified distributions are made tax-free and penalty-free. A qualified distribution is one where the Roth account has been open for the 5-taxable-year period of participation and meets other qualifications.

A Roth 403(b) is similar to a traditional 403(b) deferral contribution in virtually all other aspects. It is important to note that qualifications for a tax-free, penalty-free distribution differ between Roth 403(b)s and Roth IRAs.

You may contribute to both a Roth and traditional 403(b) pre-tax account in the same year. The combined contribution may not exceed the IRS established limits. View limits

You may elect to have your future contributions made as pre-tax contributions to the 403(b) plan. Any contributions that have already been designated as Roth contributions cannot be changed to pre-tax contributions.

Non-credentialed employees will still pay Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes on the amount that is contributed to a Roth account just as they do with the traditional pre-tax 403(b) deferral. Credentialed ministers should consult their own advisors to determine the taxability for SECA purposes on both the Roth and traditional pre-tax contributions.

Housing Allowance

Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code allows “ministers of the gospel” to exclude some or all of their ministerial income designated by their church or church-related employer as a housing allowance from income for federal income tax purposes.

A Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is the minimum amount you must withdraw from your retirement account each year after age 70½. Once you have reached this age, IRS regulations provide that all tax-sheltered retirement plans have an RMD. This rule may be a reason for you to consider rolling over all of these accounts to your AG 403(b).

Regulations further provide that an employee who continues in active ministry with the Assemblies of God may delay the RMD until the date of actual retirement from ministry.

A 50% federal excise tax penalty will apply for failure to elect an RMD after age 70½, except when continuing active ministry with the Assemblies of God.

For more information regarding Required Minimum Distributions, contact us at retirement@agfinancial.org or 1.800.622.7526.

There is no limit to the number of distributions you take in a calendar year. One periodic and one non-periodic distribution per calendar year is allowed without a charge. A periodic distribution is one that you take on a recurring basis, either monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually. A non-periodic distribution is a one-time distribution. A first-time start-up of a periodic distribution does not count as a change in your periodic distribution. Each distribution over and above your free requests for the calendar year is subject to a $50 fee. We also charge for special handling requests, such as bank wires.

Assemblies of God Ministers Benefit Association (MBA) does not charge you a penalty. If you are under 59½, you may incur a 10% IRS penalty for an early distribution. If your distribution is not covered by clergy housing, you will incur a 20% mandatory IRS withholding. This is not a penalty. There are exceptions to the IRS penalty, such as a distribution after you have had a total disability as defined in Internal Revenue Code 72(m)(7).

Tax laws and plan restrictions put limitations on when you can take distributions from your 403(b) retirement funds. You can withdraw traditional after-tax (but not Roth) funds and balances from rollovers at any time. Please be aware that taxes and a 10% early withdrawal penalty may apply to the taxable portion of the distribution.

All other 403(b) funds can be accessed only in the following situations:

Severance from employment (termination of Assemblies of God credentials)

Attainment of age 59 1/2

A total and permanent disability

For a financial hardship as defined by law and the plan document

For your beneficiaries at your death

Distributions that are free from tax and penalties can be made when the Roth 403(b) has been open for the 5-taxable-year period of participation and one of the following events happen:

You reach age 59 1/2

You become disabled

Your beneficiaries receive distributions upon your death

You may have a distribution (and in some cases are required to take a distribution) when you no longer have credentials with the Assemblies of God and/or when you sever employment from an Assemblies of God employer. These distributions are taxable and are subject to penalty. It is important to note that the allowances for distribution of Roth 403(b) accounts, including distributions of principal, are different than the allowances for Roth IRA distributions.